this is "world news" and tonight game change. a new poll shows the presidential race has now reversed. governor romney on top and attacking on foreign policy. >> but hope is not a strategy. >>'s wean learn what president obama is doing to get his momentum back. >> are you fired up? are you ready to go? >> has your backyard gone from this to this overnight? frostbite. >> it's crazy. >> scraping ice off your car in october. what it means for the price of food at the store. crash course. how do you survive a 25-car pileup at 200 miles an hour. nascar pros teach us about surviving a crash on the highway.

and never let go. that famous movie scene fighting for life in the water. something brand new tonight. rose and jack could have done to have a happy ending. >> i'll never let go, jack. and a good evening on this holiday to you and as we come on the air, the evidence is pouring in, that presidential debate last week was a game changer. at least for now. here's the newest poll. for the first time governor mitt romney pulling ahead leaving president obama among likely voters. the president is under pressure tonight so what are his plans to turn this around? 29 days to go before americans head to the polls, it's "your voice, your vote," and abc's jake tapper has been working the phones talking to campaign insiders. he's at the white house. jake? >> reporter: good evening,

diane. well, the obama campaign's official line is that the president's debate performance did not change the fundamentals of the race, but behind the scenes with that new poll, some top democrats are getting nervous and say the pressure is on vice president biden. president obama's sending a message to his supporters about last week's debate disaster. he gets it. here he is at a los angeles fund-raiser praising the opening performer. >> they just performed flawlessly night after night. i can't always say the same. >> reporter: in the last few days the pundits have been vicious and the comics no kinder. whether "the new yorker's" cover or "saturday night live." >> mr. president, governor romney has just said that he killed osama bin laden. would you care to respond? >> no, you two go ahead. >> reporter: a new gallup poll shows they believe romney did the superior job. 72% to obama's 20%.

incumbent presidents from confrontations often stumgle as did president ronald reagan in '84. >> i did avoid i'm afraid in my previous answer also. >> reporter: president obama seemed to have initially thought it went well. >> this was a terrific debate. >> reporter: quickly he talked to aides and realized he had not brought his "a" game. this is on me he later told top advisers and since then he's been studying the video of that night with the goal of a more energetic and crisp performance. while the obama campaign dismisses it other top democrats say pressure is now on vice president biden, a win by congressman paul ryan could create a dynamic of energized challengers squaring off against tired incumbents. and, diane, vice president biden is in debate prep holed off in a delaware hotel reading the book that ryan co-authored contract young guns" and practicing the

attack lines the president did not use. there is more room for vice presidential candidates to use those attack lines because their approval ratings do not matter as much. diane? >> jake, as you said, the pressure really on and governor romney tried to keep it coming today taking aim at the president's foreign policy and abc's david muir is here with that. david? >> governor romney with harsh criticism saying hope is not a strategy. so tonight hear romney's speech and we ask what are the real policy differences? mitt romney with harsh words for the president offering his own view of a greater american role ound the world. >> our friends and allies across the globe don't want less american leadership, they want more. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest distinction, on syria. romney arguing the u.s. should partner with other countries to help arm the rebels to defeat president bashar assad. >> then ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat assad's tanks and helicopters and fighter jets. >> reporter: romney's aide saying he is not suggesting the u.s. arm the rebels directly.

president obama has opposed providing weapons to the rebels partly out of concern that those could bind up in the hands of terrorists. on iran mitt romney earlier this year saying this. >> if we re-elect barack obama, iran will have a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: but today was unclear what exactly romney would do that would be different. the obama administration imposing tough sanctions already. >> i will not hesitate to impose new sanctions on iran and will tighten the sanctions we currently have. >> reporter: the obama campaign asking just what would those new sanctions be and on libya after the attack in benghazi that killed four americans including ambassador chris stevens, blistering words for the obama administration. >> this latest assault can't be blamed on a reprehensible video insulting islam despite the administration's attempts to convince us of that for so long. no, the administration has finally conceded these were the deliberate work of terrorists. >> reporter: romney said today he would vigorously pursue the terrorists. president obama has said he is

doing the same thing and the obama campaign trying to remind voters of romney's first reaction criticizing the president as the attack was unfolding. >> our u.s. diplomats were attacked in libya the oba-- >> up in virginia. the campaign arguing voters should know that romney's time line for afghanistan is the same that romney wants to get more deeply involved in syria than the president and on iraq they point out romney argued the full withdrawal of troops from iraq was a distake. election day four weeks from tomorrow. >> david and jake tapper will be here with george stephanopoulos and me. the whole political team when the vice presidential contenders face off one on one the candidates debate moderated by our own award-winning martha raddatz. and that's thursday at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. and now we have sought breaking news to tell you about tonight. we are hearing a surprising

message from former penn state football coach jerry sandusky on the eve of his sentencing for sexual abuse and abc senior national correspondent jim avila to tell us what he's saying. >> reporter: good evening, diane. tomorrow is judgment day to sentence jerry sandusky to life and live out the rest of his days in prison. tonight in a highly unorthodox move he put out a daring statement to the penn state college radio station, on the tape he defiantly accuses his victims of lying and insists he is an innocent man. >> i'm responding to the worst loss of my life. first i looked at myself. over and over i asked why? why didn't we have a fair opportunity to prepare for trial? why have so many people suffered as a result of false allegations. what's the purpose? maybe it will help others. some vulnerable children who could be abused might not be as a result of all the publicity. that would be nice, but i'm not sure about it. i would cherish the opportunity

to become a candle for others as they have been a light for me. they can take away my life. they can make me out as a monster, they can treat me as a monster but they can't take away my heart. in my heart i know i did not do these alleged disgussing acts. my wife has only been my only sex partner and that was after marriage. our love continues. >> reporter: daring and risky statement from jerry sandusky. he is expected to address the court in his sentencing tomorrow and expect more of the same then too, diane. >> he could in theory get up to life tomorrow aren't certainly for his life because he's 68 years, he can get many, many years that would effectively be his life in prison. >> thank you, jim, for this breaking news. now we move to the outbreak of meningitis and a big leap in the number of patients tonight. 105 confirmed cases now across 9 states. at least eight people have died, and tonight the cdc warns 13,000 americans may still be at some risk.

officials are even calling on local police to help identify those who might be at risk because they received a steroid injection for back pain. and now to the weather whiplash around the country. in a 24-hour period more than half the country has traded flip-flops for snow boots. or t-shirts for sweaters. temperatures plummeting so fast records are shattering from coast to coast. so what is the consequence of this and what does it mean for the winter ahead? abc's weather editor sam champion tells us. >> reporter: after suffering through the third hottest summer on record, a quick turnaround. a preseason blast of cold air bringing snow in early october from the rockies to new england. in vermont last week, tourists were enjoying fall foliage. today, the red and gold is blanketed with white. ushering in the snow are record lows. more than half the country is experiencing serious cold. 31 states punched to below freezing this morning with 643 record low temperatures in the

past week. in minnesota, the wild mountain ski area had its earliest opening ever. >> everything lined up just right and it cleared up last night and it was dry, the wind was perfect and it just wall worked out. >> reporter: for the first time in early october, temperatures had been low enough to make snow. what did you do last weekend? >> i was waterskiing. >> reporter: you were waterskiing on the water last weekend. >> yeah. >> reporter: this weekend you are? >> snowboarding. >> reporter: is that kind of nuts in a week you can do that. >> yeah, it's pretty crazy. >> reporter: just two weeks ago in minnesota, residents were battling record heat and wildfires. yesterday more than a foot of snow fell canceling schools and causing power outages. >> indeed a quick change. this first big push is not over. let me show you tonight's low temperatures expected. below normal in denver all the way south into new orleans. again and pretty much the same area you woke up with this morning from washington to new york to boston. you'll wake up again tomorrow

morning. now, we believe there will be subtle change but more cold air waiting to come down. >> it was quick and does it necessarily mean anything for the winter ahead? >> first push is not an indicator for the rest of the season and you know i'm not a big fan of long-range forecasters but we are getting better at figuring out what the world trends will be predicting a long drought and we think a return to snow and winter weather on the east coast this winter. >> so it will be a real winter this time and it's great to see you, sam, on this happiest possible day. great to see you. >> thank you, diane. we turn to a weather footnote. it's apple picking season but we learned today there are not a whole lot of apples to pick. this year's crop is the smallest in 26 years. extreme weather last spring to blame. the warm weather in march, the sudden chill in april caused apple blossoms to come early and die suddenly and now it is pushing the price of apples up $1 a pound, the price of apple juice up 20%. and some orchards are charging

twice as much for a gallon of cider as a gallon of gasoline. and speaking of the price of gasoline, a painful milestone for drivers on the west coast tonight, right now in california, the average price of a gallon of gas is $4.67. the highest in the nation and the result of refinery trouble. by comparison, the national average tonight is $3.81 a gallon. but today california governor jerry brown decided to speed up the release of a winter blend of gasoline, and that should bring those record high prices back down to earth later this week. and still ahead right here on "world news," two epic car crashes, this one at nascar, but this other one on a highway with drivers like us so how do ordinary drivers make it? next, the pros tell us how your family can survive. [ male announcer ] inside the v8 taste lab.

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is behind the wheel. >> reporter: an epic collision. >> oh, there's a car crash. stewart in the middle of the pack and over. >> reporter: 25 cars spinning, flipping into a smoky mesh of rubber and steel. >> a huge wreck to end this race. >> reporter: look at it again closely. a fraction of a turn of the wheel by driver tony stewart at 200 miles per hour. his is the car that goes airborne. setting off a chain reaction. >> get it right. >> reporter: watch this one car as it slams into the pileup. now, this is the camera from inside that very car. for stewart just another day on the track. >> i just screwed up. i just, you know, i was trying to win the race. >> reporter: miraculously, no one was hurt. that wasn't the case on friday in sarasota, florida, a chain reactition collision on i-75.

mangling cars, jack knifing tractor trailers, injuring dozens. >> it looked like a scene out of a nascar wreck. >> i just put my head down so i wouldn't see. >> reporter: but there are a few tips from the pros. >> the biggest thing that you try to do is you try to anticipate a little bit is where you might go if something should happen. >> reporter: try driving in the outside lanes of the highway, that way a quick turn will put you on the shoulder and out of the may lay and listen to this, if a crash is inevitable, don't swerve. the front of your car is designed to take the biggest impact. >> you have to constantly be aware of your surroundings. obviously things like safety, wearing a seat belt. >> reporter: today we hit the track with the president of the speedway matt beacher, an old nascar hand. >> you have to make the same judgments out on the roadway whether next to you or behind you is going to change how you react, whether you're on the brakes or the gas or steering out of the problem. >> reporter: he says it's critical to have an escape plan

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>> angry birds, the star wars edition was announced today. it's already the most downloaded video game ever. 1 billion times and now the creator have teamed up with lucas film, the new game will feature bird versions of luke skywalker, han solo and princess leia and, of course, a darth bird vader available november 8th. a picture in the news tonight, a love that conquered all from a national park in uganda. a lioness adopts an antelope calf offering her paw. normally it might have been dinner but when the little one first wandered over it looked like an option that the cat stood its ground, won over the mother and tonight they are thriving in the wild skink dom as we dream it could be.

and our person of the day on this columbus day, christopher columbus, the national tribute coast to coast, of course, to the man who sailed to america. there are more than 30 cities and towns across the country named after him and you are looking at a living room you can drop by in new york that pays some attention to the old explorer. it was built at the top of a 70-foot statue in ginger zee toured with the tourists for an up-close view of some of the smallest columbus fans looking at it. >> so what did you guys think? >> perfect. >> it's very big. do you know what he did? >> he sailed from spain and he landed in america. >> if you're counting it's been 520 years since he sailed the ocean blue. and coming up here, something new in the ultimate titanic mystery. did jack have to die?

could rose have saved him? you have to hear the simple thing they might have done, even james cameron is weighing in. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... until i had the shingles. it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. it's something you never want to encounter. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

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all replay those scenes in our head. jack and rose on the "titanic" riding the ship down and floating in the icy waters of the atlantic but what if there was something simple. what if there were a way jack could have been kept alive. enter a new experiment and a 13r50izing answer. abc's david wright explains. >> i promise. >> reporter: spoiler alert. in case you're the one person on the planet who hasn't seen "titanic" -- >> i'll never let go jack. >> reporter: jack doesn't make it. he freezes to death in the icy atlantic so that rose can survive. but was that as it had to be? >> hey, james. >> reporter: last night on the discovery channel "titanic" director james cameron turned to the mythbusters for help. >> these thousands of fans think i got it wrong and both could have been supported by the board and lived. this is what i want you to test. >> reporter: the mythbusters tried it first in a bathtub with

little jack and rose dolls. then tried it for real in the open water. jack's first attempts to get aboard the board seemed very similar to the movie. >> the board does appear to be only made for one. >> reporter: sure enough persistence pays off. especially when they came up with a tweak worthy of macgyver. >> you're wearing a life jacket. let's say she spread the buoyancy around. let's put it underneath and get every bit we can. >> reporter: by latching it underneath the plank jack and rose would have been high and dry. >> we're rescued. we totally made it. >> i think you guys are missing the point here. >> reporter: as the director points out sometimes the laws of drama trump the laws of physics. >> the script says jack dies. he has to die. >> reporter: the ending for this movie had to include some tragedy. david wright, abc news, los angeles. >> and we thank you for watching on this holiday. we're always here at abcnews.com. "nightline" later and i'll see

you again tomorrow night. good night. i approve this message. mitt romney: "i'm not in favor romney's being dishonest he an independent, non-partisan liberals will raise taxes on the chairmrman of that so-called romney's former company. gingrich was there too. it's not independent. it's just not true.